Re: Second henge | Forum — The Modern Antiquarian

Marden Henge (and Hatfield Barrow) 3

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Marden Henge dig uncovers 4,500-year-old dwelling

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VBB Jul 29, 2010 05:40:45

Replying to moss

moss wrote:

Picking a couple of paragraphs from Maeve Kennedy's article on the front page, and which she has got somewhat wrong, must have missed Silbury on the journey down ......

"Famously – to its comparatively few devotees and visitors, that is – it is the biggest henge in Britain that isn't there, surrounding one of the biggest artificial hills in Britain, which isn't there either"

"and the wholly unexpected discovery – the second, smaller henge so close to the modern houses that the roots of two trees at the foot of a back garden are actually growing into its bank."

There we are two-a penny henges, all over the place, swept clean and tidied up before they move on.

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/89170/news/marden_henge_and_hatfield_barrow.html

Not sure I am with you Moss. There is a bit of a mystery infused glaze to media reporting to promote why 'the public' that have never heard of it should be interested, but I thought Maev conveyed the feel of this particular dig rather well. Her writing will make some want to know more, job done.

There is rather a lot to think about when you get past all the have you never heard of stuff. Hence I attempted to highlight the bank archaeology on another thread. From being one of the least talked about aspects, other than the cliche of it not being defensive, to have to think of banks as more than spoil from the ditch is an enforced leap for public thinking. And I am not just saying that because I loathe seeing those wooden staircases at Avebury (though I do, albeit something had to be done). There was a serious proposal to mount a wooden staircase on Silbury - can you imagine that?

moss Jul 29, 2010 06:05:18

Replying to VBB

Hi VBB, Yes it was a very good article by Maeve Kennedy hence the reason for highlighting it, it was just nit-picking on my part about forgetting that Silbury was the tallest artifical hill. As for wooden stairs, the roman Bartlow barrows in Cambridgeshire which are very tall, have wooden steps up the side, and it may protect the barrows but it looks horrible and on Silbury would look even worse.

The point that the houses are on top of the bank of the henge of course turns theories upside down, to me it points that henges are specific gathering places, whether for ceremony or to construct another monument somewhere else in the landscape. But I also think that henges must be classed using different names because they may be function in different ways - corralling animals maybe if people have to live on the banks of the henge....